Our entry level database publishing system, Babelfish has been updated to allow the storage and export of Unicode characters. Unicode is a way of storing and displaying different characters from all the world's writing systems. Using Unicode in tandem with OpenType fonts you can create printed material for any language on earth (and some from further afield such as Klingon!)

The first application for this new technology has been with our existing customer Christies, who use our Matrix CMS system at their London and New York offices. These two offices deal with all the sale catalogues for Europe, America and Middle-East with the notable exception of Asia which is handled by their Hong Kong office. Their requirements for Hong Kong meant that they didn't require a full blown CMS system but did need a simple system to export pages with images and both English and Chinese text on the same page.

The system has had a massive impact on page production speeds; reducing proofing, automating page creation and providing an image database of auction lots allowing automatic placement of images. In fact the system has been a great success or "巨的成功" (although apologies to any Chinese speakers, that could be anything we've just typed... we did it on Google Translate!)